GB2283866A - Through adaptor connector containing circuitry - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic module comprises a body formed as a tongue (1) having a plurality of through holes containing contacts and an electronic circuit connected to the contacts. The tongue (1) may lie between a relay and a base (not shown). The holes in the tongue (1) conform to the pin arrangement of the electrical unit and allow the electric unit's pins to pass through and be received by the base. A part (4) of the tongue (1) contains the electronic circuit. Two of the through holes are provided with contacts (3, 3') for coupling the electronic circuit to pins of the electrical unit. The tongue (1) is also provided with reinforcing flanges (5, 6). <IMAGE>

Description

ELECTRONIC MODULE DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to an electronic module for use with a plug-in electrical unit, for example a relay.

There are a large variety of relays designed to perform different functions in existence on the market. From the point of view of their connection they are subdivided into two major groups: non-plug-in relays and plug-in relays.

All relays have external terminals, connected internally to components of the relay, such as coils and contacts.

It is generally accepted that the terminals connected to the coil are called "input terminals" while those connected to the contacts are called "output terminals".

Non-plug-in relays are connected to the operating circuit by directly soldering their terminals to a printed circuit or circuit wiring.

Plug-in relays are connected directly to base plates equipped with terminals and terminal sockets, connected together within the baseplate so that a connection is provided between the terminals of the relay and the terminals.

There is a large variety of plug-in bases, which correspond to different types of relays. Here we refer by way of example to a standard model general-purpose base which can accept relays with eight or eleven pins, in a circular arrangement.

Nevertheless its applications as explained below are also appropriate for models other than the one mentioned.

Initially, relays were used as simple electromechanical components, but since the appearance and development of control circuits containing semiconductors, relays have fulfilled a complementary purpose in these circuits and have to be capable of acting without causing damage to the associated semiconductors. For this purpose it is necessary that means of protection be provided in the coil and contact circuits in order to avoid transient overvoltage peaks or radiofrequency emissions which can effect behaviour or even destroy delicate electronic logic circuits.

The trend in current technology with regard to the use of relays is to incorporate various electronic circuits within the relay itself or within its base to carry out the protective task described above, and also to incorporate more complex electronic circuits which control the operation of the relay in a specific way, such as delay circuits, sensor amplifiers, phase fault detectors and, in general, all types of logic circuits, so that the relay acts as a resulting output from this logic. These electronic circuits are referred to below as "auxiliary circuits".

There are three main ways of providing protection: 1) Installing these components within the relay in a fixed manner. This practice is widespread at the present time and does not require any work for the fitter, but the protection system cannot be replaced. It is only possible to fit very simple circuits because of the small amount of space available.

2) Through the use of a circuit in module form, equipped with plug-in terminals which can be associated with the internal terminals of the relay. This arrangement makes it possibie to replace the protective circuit immediately if necessary, in the place where it is in use, but it has the disadvantage of the same space problem as the previous method.

3) Inserting the auxiliary circuit in the plug-in base. This arrangement consists of providing the circuit in a container module provided with terminals which plug in to the input terminals of the baseplate through openings made in the upper wall of the body of the baseplate, establishing a connection with the relay coil.

The module is plugged into the small space available between the body of the relay and the block of the base connection terminals with the result that, with more complex auxiliary circuits, this space is insufficient and it is necessary to construct a narrow and vertically elongated module.

This arrangement is precarious because it provides a space which is in any event insufficient to house given components of a specific volume and also gives rise to great instability in the connection when carelessly handled during maintenance, and also through vibrations caused by operation of the equipment itself.

It is also impossible to establish a connection between the relay input (coil) and output (contacts), as is necessary in some cases.

The purpose of this invention is to take advantage of the undoubted advantages of the intermediate module, i.e. the non-existence of extemal connections, its possibility for almost immediate functional replacement, fitting the standard dimensions for bases and overcoming their observed disadvantages, difficulty of handling and frequent sensitivity to impact, above all.

At the same time it is desirable to pay maximum respect to standardised base products and, especially, the very wide market for components in use which are subject to circuit modifications through the obsolescence of design criteria, which makes it necessary to replace components such as bases and which with this invention can be used until they have to be replaced through age, without it being necessary to replace them in order to incorporate new circuits, such as delay circuits or the like, while at the same time not dismantling the bases from their supports or providing new wiring.

According to the present invention there is provided an electronic module comprising a tongue member having a plurality of through holes, arranged for allowing a plug-in electrical unit to be plugged into a complementary base therethrough, and an electronic circuit, wherein contact means coupled to the electronic circuit are provided in a plurality of the through holes.

Preferably, the electronic circuit is housed in a body on the tongue. The body may be generally rectangular in form and is, conveniently, located at a margin of the tongue. A further body, housing electronic circuitry, may also be located on the tongue.

Preferably, reinforcing flanges are provided on the tongue. For instance where the tongue is rectangular, a body may be located at one margin and reinforcing flanges along the other margins. If there are two bodies on the tongue, these are conveniently arranged opposite each other with reinforcing flanges extending therebetween.

Preferably, two of the through holes are provided with contact means. When an electrical unit, such as a relay, is plugged into the base through the module two of its pins make contact with the contact means connecting the electronic circuit to the electrical unit.

Preferably, the tongue is rectangular and the body or bodies are arranged so as not to interfere with insertion or removal of the electrical unit. Likewise, any reinforcing flanges should not interfere with the insertion or removal of the electrical unit.

In this case where there are two bodies, both reinforcing flanges are simple reinforcements between the bodies and may be configured with a greater thickness in order to incorporate a metal core which comprises an electrical conductor for the necessary connections between the bodies.

The module may contain a control or logic circuit in parallel with the electrical unit, which is protected thereby.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a front view of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows in cross-section another embodiment of the present invention.

Refening to Figures 1 and 2, the electronic module is a lamina L-shaped body of plastics material. The vertical limb 1 of the module is arranged to be located between the front face of a baseplate and the base of a relay and has a configuration of openings 2 as in the baseplate. Two of these openings 3, 3' have contact means for coupling relay pins to the module's electronics via embedded conductors. The other holes allow the remaining relay pins to pass for conventional connection to the base.

The base of the L is the body 4 of the module, configured as a rectangular body, the module being supplemented with three flanges at right angles, two of which 5 are reinforcements parallel to the body of the module and the third reinforcing the previous two and acting as a support for gripping the module.

Referring to Figure 3, the third plate may be replaced as an alternative by a further module body 4' similar to the one described above and distally parallel thereto to give the module a generally U-shaped configuration. The two side plates 5 are constructed of greater thickness for passage of electrical connections between the two bodies of the module.

This description has no need to be more extensive given that anyone skilled in the art has sufficient information to understand the invention and its resulting advantages, and to proceed with reproducing the same.

Both the materials and the shape, size and arrangement of the components described are susceptible to variation without departing from the invention. For example, the through holes may be arranged to comply with any one of the numerous standard pin arrangements.

Claims (12)

1. An electronic module comprising a tongue member having a plurality of through holes, arranged for allowing a plug-in electrical unit to be plugged into a complementary base therethrough, and an electronic circuit, wherein contact means coupled to the electronic circuit are provided in a plurality of the through holes.

2. An electronic module according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit is housed in a body on the tongue.

3. An electronic module according to claim 2, wherein there is a further body, housing electronic circuitry, on the tongue.

4. An electronic module according to claim 1, 2 or 3, including a reinforcing flange on the tongue.

5. An electronic circuit module according to claim 4, wherein the reinforcing flange is located at a margin of the tongue.

6. An electronic circuit module according to claim 5, wherein the body is mounted at a margin of the tongue and reinforcing flanges are located at the other margins of the tongue.

7. An electronic circuit module according to claim 5, wherein a body is mounted at each of two opposed margins of the tongue and reinforcing flanges are located at the other margins of the tongue.

8. A universal electronic adaptor module interposed between a conventional baseplate and relay, essentially designed to have a plate (1) intermediate between the front face of the baseplate and the base of the relay, with openings (2), two of which are provided in the ends (3) and (3') of connection plates for relay pin paths to the module, having a module body 94) and three plates at right angles, two of which (5) reinforce the body of the module and the third (6) reinforces the above two and supports the grip for the universal adaptor.

9. A universal electronic adaptor module interposed between a conventional baseplate and relay according to claim 8, essentially characterised in that the third plate (60 is replaced by another module body (4'), while both side plates (5) of greater thickness allow electrical connections to pass between the two blocks of the module (4) and (4').

10. A universal electronic adaptor module to fit between a baseplate and a relay.

11. An electronic module substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

12. An electronic module substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.